Contribute to Zine World

Zine World is looking for writers, reviewers, and artists to help with the next issue, which will be released this summer. Here's how you can contribute:

* Writers -- We need articles and columns on topics of interest to zinesters. Potential topics could include writing, publishing, creativity, DIY, censorship, mail art, free speech-related news, etc. Original content or already published pieces ok. (I'd really like to get an article by someone who runs a distro, writing about your experiences.) Email jerianne at undergroundpress.org with your ideas. Articles for the next issue would be due in early June.

* Reviewers -- We need reviewers who are passionate about zines, who can write concisely, and who are not afraid to express their opinions. We like to have a variety of reviewers on board: people who are interested in different genres of zines, people of different ages, people who are culturally and geographically diverse, new zinesters and old timers. You must be able to meet deadlines. If you'd like to try out as a reviewer, please email jerianne at undergroundpress.org; include a note about yourself and 5 sample zine reviews, following the format we use for our reviews. If you are not familiar with our review format and style, take a look at the sample reviews on our website.

* Artists -- To overcome the inherent textiness of a review zine, we welcome contributed illustrations. If you'd like to join our stable of artists, email art at undergroundpress.org. Find more details at our website.

Zine World would not exist without the help of volunteers. We'd love to have your help!

I guess I'm just coming at zines from another (more tech nerdy) place, but my email address has been the same for something like 6 years, whereas in that time I have lived in four different countries, and in some cases have absolutely no way to have things forwarded from an address.

I'd rather have an email bounce then send money/a letter off and never get a response.

Jerianne said:

Yeah, that has been our policy, although we are considering changing it. It started out because a few years ago we still had a lot of readers who didn't use the Internet/email. My reason for continuing the policy: a. If you're sending the zine through the mail, you should be willing to provide a mailing address for your zine, b. Yes, addresses change, but you're more likely to get mail forwarded than to get email forwarded. When someone changes an email address (or stops using a website), that means of communication is just gone. and c. We find a lot of email addresses that bounce and URLs that are no longer good within 6 months to 1 year of a zine being published. Like I said, we're thinking about changing that policy tho. If anyone has an opinion on the matter, I'd love to hear it.
Matthew Murray said:

Do you seriously not review zines that don't have mailing addresses? That seems incredibly...out dated. None of my zines have mailing addresses because I move so much. I have no idea what country I'm even going to be living in in six months time. With websites and email addresses and stuff there doesn't seem to be any reason to make that a requirment as long as one of those is active.

If requiring a physical address is "outdated", then why isn't a PAPER review zine, SENT through the PHYSICAL mail, "outdated"?

There are many, many, websites, blogspots, on-line distros, that review zines, and sell them via shopping carts and Paypal and debit cards---Syndicated Zine Reviews and it's network being one of them. Then there's Etsy. Why can't there be ONE zine that honors and respects the Papernet community? In Violet Jones's old zine, The Free Press Death Ship, there was a lot of lament about how the Internet was taking over. Some said, that's ridiculous, the Papernet and the Internet can and will co-exist. That doesn't seem to be the trend. All these venues for people who prefer the Internet to order zines, and now they want to internetize the last review zine that stuck to the old-school ideal.

I can't really explain why reading and pouring over a zine full of physical addresses, ordering them with cash/trades/or the-usuals, and dropping them in mail slots is SO much more satisfying than "navigating a website" and "clicking" them into a "shopping cart" and purchasing them with PayPal or a debit card. I can no more do that than explain why eating a Thai meal at a little corner restaurant in an old brick building in an obscure part of the city is a richer experience than eating a frozen Thai dinner, cooked in a microwave, with a plastic fork, under flourescent lights, in a workplace cafeteria.

I'm not mad at Jerriane or anybody else who thinks it's necessary and okay to abandon the "physical address requirement". I'm not doing the huge amount of work she and others are, so I have no right to be. But I just can't relate to the idea of a paper "zine" full of websites and e-mail addresses. Hey, why not just throw in the towel and REVIEW websites themselves....and YouTube videos! (TV, haven't you heard, is SO last week.) Isn't there a wee bit of irony in that picture? Doesn't it seem a little "pointless"? Doesn't anybody beside me get a little "cognitive dissonance" out of it? Well, maybe not. I'm very "outdated".

The Papernet is a communication-way, a life-vibe, and a community-way. It's value to the Papernetter is virtually impossible to communicate to those who just "don't get it". The claim of the techno-advocate that technology is "neutral" is very debatable in my mind.

I hope to start some kind of ad/contact/review zine that ABSOLUTELY, WILL, require PHYSICAL addresses (electronic address allowed too). If it fails it fails. I won't knuckle under.

No hard feelings. You have a right to your way as much as I do mine. Best of luck in whatever you decide and I hope it works for you.

Our workaround for zines with no physical address, or addresses that change frequently, has been to also publish the contact info for a distro that stocks the zine.

Matthew Murray said:

I guess I'm just coming at zines from another (more tech nerdy) place, but my email address has been the same for something like 6 years, whereas in that time I have lived in four different countries, and in some cases have absolutely no way to have things forwarded from an address.

James, of course requiring a physical address is outdated. But I don't think anybody's said anything at all about abandoning the listing of physical addresses in Zine World. You have a valid argument but I don't think anybody has suggested anything to warrant it.

Besides which there are obviously plenty of zinesters who prefer not to publish their mailing addresses because they direct interested parties to e-mail for that info, sometimes even within the paper zine (I guess this is sort of the the 21st century version of getting a PO box).

Okay, it's ages later. But I wanted to leave this for a while before replying.

Why isn't a paper zine sent through the mail outdated? Because it's nice to read things on print, because you can do things in print you can't do online, because you can give it to someone, leave it somewhere, because I'm more likely to go through a print review zine at my own pace and find new things instead of reading every review on a website.

And note, I'm not saying "a link to a website where you can purchase the zine online," I'm saying "a way to contact people that may not have permanent addresses." I have no way to sell or buy zines online, hell, I don't even have that much interest in selling my zines, I much prefer trading (which is one of the reasons I'm on this site).

Also: I would love a zine of youtube video reviews. That'd be pretty funny I think.

Help make Zine World a comprehensive resource for zine publishers and readers by sharing information for our next issue!

* Resource listings. Share what you know with other zinesters!
- Has the mailing address for your zine changed? Let us know!
- Have you been to any recent zine events? Write up a report!
- Share your zine distro & store recommendations.
- Have tips about mailing/shipping, printing/copying, etc.? Other resources to recommend?
- Have a new listing or updated info (including closings) for zine review zines/websites or zine libraries? Looking for submissions for the zine library you're trying to start?
Please email your contributions to wordofmouth@undergroundpress.org.